The Hidden Picture: A Ghost Mystery Story (Second Hand Ghosts Book 4) (3 page)

Chapter 9

“That’s
not Mrs Brown,” I said.

“Who’s
Mrs Brown?” said Carol and Ernie at the same time.

“Mrs
Brown is Emily’s headteacher,” I explained. I couldn’t look at Carol and Ernie
at the same time so I looked at Carol.

Emily
picked the picture up for a closer look, “It is Mrs Brown, she’s got the same
eyes and mouth. Look, Mummy.”

She
passed it to me. I couldn’t see the resemblance at all.

Ernie
looked hopeful, “This Mrs Brown might be related to Sally! She might be her
daughter or granddaughter.”

Emily
looked over to where Ernie was. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

I
glanced at Carol to see if she had noticed the exchange of smiles. I didn’t
want her knowing that Emily could see ghosts too.

Carol
looked as if she was thinking.

“Is
there a photo of Mrs Brown that we can look at? Perhaps on the school website?”
Carol asked.

“I
don’t know. I’ll get my computer and check. Won’t be a moment. Emily, why don’t
you come with me?”

“No,
thank you. I’ll sit here and chat with our guests,” Emily said politely and she
sat down next to Carol.

“There’s
only one of me!” Carol laughed.

I
shot Emily a warning glance which she thankfully picked up on. Sometimes, I
think my daughter is much older than her years.

Emily
looked up at Carol and said, “I know, I said guests because I wish there were
two of you.”

Carol
positively beamed with happiness. She looked fondly at Emily. Emily quickly
looked at me and grinned.

I
returned a few minutes later with my computer. We found the school website.
There was a photo of Mrs Brown. It wasn’t very big so we had to enlarge it, but
that made it a bit grainy.

Carol
and I agreed that there could be some resemblance but we weren’t entirely sure.

Ernie
was transfixed by the photo.

“It’s
her. I can see my Sally in that woman. You have to go and see her. Find out
where Sally is,” he pleaded.

I
didn’t reply to him in front of Carol.

But
Carol had the same idea.

“There’s
only one way to sort this problem out, Kate. You’ll have to go and see Mrs
Brown. And do it soon because I can’t have that randy ghost hanging about my
shop.”

“Our
shop,” I corrected her. “I’ll go and see her as soon as Emily is feeling
better.”

“I’m
better now,” Emily smiled at me. “Can Auntie Carol come and watch Postman Pat
with me?”

“I’m
sure Carol has to get back to the shop,” I told her.

“Nonsense,”
Carol said. She stood up and took Emily’s hand. “I’ve shut up early today. Come
on, Emily.”

Carol
and Emily left the kitchen.

Ernie
looked at me, “I just know they’re related. Please will you talk to Mrs Brown?”

“Of
course I will,” I reassured him.

Just
then Emily popped her head around the kitchen door and said, “Auntie Carol said
she would love a toasted cheese sandwich, if you’re making one.”

“Okay,”
I said. I was tempted to send Ernie in to sit with Carol before she gave me any
more orders.

Chapter 10

Emily
was feeling much better the next day and was ready to go back to school. I
phoned Carol and told her I’d be a bit late coming in as I was going to speak
to Mrs Brown.

“Try
and get as much information as you can. Don’t be all wishy washy like you
usually are,” Carol ordered.

Mrs
Brown was happy to see me. She asked about Emily and I told her she was fully
recovered.

She
looked at her watch and said, “Is there anything else, Mrs Greenwood?”

I
swallowed a lump in my throat. How could I say what I had to say?

I
decided to keep quiet about my ability to speak to ghosts. Some people just
didn’t understand.

I
reached into my bag and took out the picture of Sally. I put it in front of Mrs
Brown. She looked at it quizzically.

“Did
Emily draw this? It’s quite advanced for someone her age,” she said.

“No,
a man called Ernie Ford drew it. His granddaughter brought some pictures into
our shop to sell. This was one of them. Emily saw it and said it looked a bit
like you.”

I
gave an embarrassed smile as if to say, ‘You know what children are like!’

She
put her glasses on and looked closer at the picture. She studied it for quite a
while.

Then
she put it down and gave me a searching look.

“It
isn’t me,” she said. “It’s my grandma.”

“Oh!”
I wasn’t expecting that answer.

Ernie
was at my side and he gave a whoop of joy, “I knew it! I just knew it!”

“Would
you mind if I kept this? I’d pay you, of course,” Mrs Brown said.

Oh.
Now I’d have to explain about seeing ghosts.

I
told Mrs Brown as clearly, and intelligently, as I could about my recent
ability to see the dead.

She
took it well. Perhaps she was used to children telling her all sorts of tales.

“I
don’t discount that you can see ghosts, Mrs Greenwood, but what’s this got to
do with my grandma?”

I
looked at Ernie. He gave a little nod as if to say I could tell her.

“Ernie,
the man who drew this picture, died recently. He came to see me. He needs me to
pass a message onto Sally.”

“What’s
the message?”

I
looked at Ernie again. He gave me a defiant look and shook his head.

“He
won’t tell me what it is until I actually meet Sally.”

Mrs
Brown stood up. She folded her arms. “In that case, Mrs Greenwood, I will not
let you see my grandma. She’s in a nursing home. She gets upset at the
slightest thing and it takes the nurses a long time to calm her down. I can’t
let you go in there and tell her goodness knows what! It could seriously damage
her health.”

She
handed the picture to me.

I
stood up and took it, “I understand. I’m so sorry for bothering you.”

I
quickly left her office, feeling like a chastised child.

Ernie
followed me, “Go back! Get her to tell you where my Sally is. I have to see
her!”

I
ignored him. I didn’t want Mrs Brown to look out of her window and see me
talking to myself.

I
got in my car and drove away from the school. Ernie pleaded with me to go back.

I
pulled up in a side street and switched off the engine. I turned to look at
Ernie.

“I
can’t help you until you tell me exactly what happened between you and Sally,
and what it is that you need to say to her.”

Chapter 11

Ernie
sighed, “Okay, I’ll tell you, just don’t judge me. I did what I thought was
best at the time.”

“Go
on,” I encouraged him.

“Me
and Sally met at school when we were six. She wasn’t like all the other girls,
all giggly and silly. She was more like a boy, loved climbing trees and messing
about in mud. We used to go on all sorts of adventures together. Children had
more freedom then, we were left to our own devices.”

I
nodded. I thought of Emily. I wouldn’t dream of letting her play out on her
own, she was only six. I wasn’t sure that I would even let her out when she was
eighteen.

Ernie
carried on, “Anyway, when we got older Sally looked different to me. I think I
finally realised she was a girl. And I noticed she looked at me in a new way.”

I
shifted position. I could see where this was going, I didn’t want Ernie to give
me all the graphic details.

“To
cut a long embarrassing story short, we fell in love. We were only teenagers
and everyone made fun of us. But we didn’t care, we knew our love was real.”

“So
what happened?” I asked.

“We
were both good at drawing, Sally was much better than me. She wanted to be a
world famous artist. I wasn’t too bothered, it was just something I enjoyed.
That sketch that you have of Sally, I did that one Summer’s day. It was the
most perfect day. She drew a picture of me too, sitting under the same tree.
Her picture was much better than mine.”

Ernie
smiled and shook his head a little.

“It
all started to go wrong when she got offered a place at a top notch university.
I was so pleased for her but she didn’t want to go.”

“Why
not?” I asked.

“It
was in France! Can you believe that? My Sally going to France. She said she
didn’t want to leave me. She said I’d fall in love with someone else. I told
her to stop being silly and that I’d wait for her. But she just wouldn’t
listen. She said she was going to refuse the university offer and that she’d
forget about being a world famous artist.”

Ernie
stopped talking and looked down at his hands. I had a feeling that he was
trying to find the courage to carry on.

“I
did something awful. I had to find a way to make sure she went to that
university. I couldn’t be the one who took her dreams away. How could I live
with myself if I did that?”

“What
did you do?”

“I
was supposed to be meeting Sally at the cinema one Tuesday night. I stood her
up. I knew she’d come round to my house to see if I was poorly or something. When
she did turn up she found me canoodling with Ethel Barston.”

I
gasped.

Ernie
looked at me, “I didn’t even like Ethel, she never stopped talking. But she’d
been after me for ages, even though she knew I was with Sally. So when I asked
Ethel to come round to me house she said yes straightaway. She didn’t need any
persuading to give me a kiss. In fact, it was hard to get her to stop.”

“But
what did Sally say?”

“She
didn’t say anything. She just looked at me like her heart had been broken. I
know my heart broke when I saw her face. She ran away from my house. The next
thing I knew she had gone to stay with her auntie in Scotland. I heard later
that she went to that French University.”

“That
was an awful thing to do. Couldn’t you have just talked it over? Sorted
something out?” I said.

“I
was young and stupid, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I regretted it
the moment I did it. And every day since. I tried to find her to say sorry but
none of her family would tell me where she’d gone. And now, when I’ve got my
last chance to say sorry, her family are stopping me again.”

Ernie’s
shoulders drooped and he looked down at his hands again.

I
made a decision.

I
started up the engine and said, “I’m going to make sure you see Sally, one way
or another. By the way, who did you end up marrying? I’m assuming you married
someone, I’ve met your granddaughter.”

Ernie
gave me a little smile, “I married Ethel Barston. I got used to her talking and
grew to love her over the years. She was a good woman and I don’t regret
marrying her. The only regret I have is hurting Sally.”

Chapter 12

I
drove back to the school. I marched into the reception area and told Mrs Lyle,
the school admin person, that I needed to see Mrs Brown again.

Mrs
Lyle gave me a stern look from behind her plastic window, “She’s very busy. You
can make an appointment for tomorrow.”

I
stood my ground and said firmly, “It’s urgent.” I looked over at Ernie. “It’s
actually a matter of life and death.”

Mrs
Lyle looked taken back, “Right, well, in that case I’ll see if she can see you
now. Take a seat, please.”

I
sat down and tried to listen to what Mrs Lyle was saying on the phone to Mrs
Brown. But she had one of those annoying mumbling voices and all I heard was
‘death!’.

Mrs
Lyle put the phone down and then gestured for me to go through the main door. I
did so. Mrs Brown was waiting at the door of her office. She didn’t look happy.

She
ushered me in and into the chair that I’d only vacated 30 minutes ago. Mrs
Brown didn’t sit down. She stood next to me with her arms folded. For a moment
I felt like a naughty five year old.

I
looked again at Ernie’s face. He gave me an encouraging smile.

I
began to talk. I told Mrs Brown all about Ernie and Sally, what he had done,
and how sorry he was.

Mrs
Brown unfolded her arms and sat down.

Then
I added my thoughts, that it wasn’t up to anyone to keep Ernie away from Sally,
all he wanted to do was apologise. Surely Mrs Brown could see that?

“I
can but what if it upsets my grandma?” she asked.

“What
if it makes her happy? Hearing him say sorry after all these years? Well,
hearing me on Ernie’s behalf,” I added hopefully.

Mrs
Brown looked as if she was considering what I’d said. After a while she picked
up the phone and said, “Mrs Lyle, I’ll be out for the rest of the morning.”

She
stood up, grabbed her coat and bag and said, “I’ll give you ten minutes with
her. And I hope to goodness that you don’t upset her.”

So
did I. I followed Mrs Brown out of her office. Ernie followed me, he was
smiling.

Mrs
Brown ordered me into her car. Ernie got in the back. I could see him through
the passenger side wing mirror.

We
left the school car park and headed down the road.

“Do
you mind if I ask about your grandma? Did she become a world famous artist?”

Mrs
Brown glanced at me briefly and said, “She became quite well known. She changed
her name to Tiffany Silver. Have you ever heard of her?”

Tiffany
Silver! I’d seen her portraits in a gallery in London!

“I
certainly have heard of her. Does she still paint?”

“No,
her hands are too unsteady to hold a brush. On good days she likes to talk
about all the famous people she’s met,” Mrs Brown said.

I
looked at Ernie through the mirror and said, “Do you think that Ernie did the
right thing? Letting her go, although he could have done it in a better way.”

Mrs
Brown shrugged, “Who knows? They could have stayed together and she still could
have become famous.”

Ernie
asked me something.

I
then repeated his question to Mrs Brown.

“No,
she never got married. My mum was the product of a short love affair with a
married man. Grandma said she never got married because she never found the
right man.”

I
didn’t say anything else but I wondered if Ernie and Mrs Brown were thinking
the same as me, that Sally never married because the right man had broken her
heart.